I Am Number 12
by captain.fang
Summary: 12 Loric children and their guardians landed on earth 16 years ago. Too young to remember the events, the children grow up in the different districts of Panem, unaware of the truth of their origin. But what happens when Katniss starts developing special powers? And when she is reaped for the 74thHGs will she be able to survive while trying to conceal her abilities from the Capitol?
1. Prologue

_Lorien was once a peaceful planet flourishing with life. It was inhabited by beings with indistinguishable similarities to humans. There were two types of Loric citizens. One group were called Garde. They possessed special abilities, called legacies, which were used to defend the planet. The other group called Cepan's lacked in these special powers. They were each assigned a Garde child to mentor and during teenage years, help to develop their legacies. The system worked for thousands of years, however a great unrest was growing amongst the Cepan. They felt oppressed by the Garde and a large number formed a rebel group. An uprising began which led to a devastating war. The Cepan's fought the Garde with nuclear weapons, destroying the luscious green planet and turning it into a desolate, uninhabitable rock. _

_Amidst the chaos, twelve Garde children were evacuated by spaceship with their twelve Cepan protectors and sent to Earth, a supposed safe haven. They arrived on the only land mass that occupied humans, a country called Panem. There were 12 districts, ruled by The Capitol. The Cepan realised that Earth was a dangerous place for children with special abilities. They decided to go their separate ways, taking each child to a different district. There they would wait until each child had begun to develop their legacies. Only then would they reunite and return to Lorien to rejuvenate the planet using the Garde's powers. For their own safety it was agreed that the children would not know the truth of their origin until their abilities had developed. _

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**For anyone who hasn't read the Lorien Legacy books or watched I Am Number Four, I believe it isn't essential in understanding this story as I've aimed at this audience. However, if I've left any gaps or you're finding yourself confused, please leave a comment and I will try to add more detail or explain those things in the next chapter. **

**Please leave a review with your opinion on this HG/LL combination :) I've already mapped out a sequel to this story, set during Catching Fire. There the other Garde will play larger roles. So if people like this fic, I'll hopefully continue with two more sequels :)**


	2. Chapter 1

***** 16 years after the Loric landed on earth *****

My name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm sixteen years old and I'm from District 12, a poor coal mining district. My mother died shortly after my birth and my father was killed in a mining accident a month later. The only family I've ever known is my uncle Beau. He has raised me in part with Hazelle Hawthorne, who offered to look after me while he worked in the mines. I grew up with Gale, her son who is a brother to me and a best friend. Both our families are poor and struggle to put food on the table. Before he passed away, Gale's father taught he and I how to hunt game and how to forage for edible plants. That's how we've managed to survive all this time.

This morning I wake to a silent house. Uncle Beau must have already gone down to the mine. I sit up slowly, shaking the weariness of sleep from my head. Standing up, I slide my feet into my warn hunting boots, pull on trousers and a shirt and braid my long dark hair. I grab my foraging bag and head out to the fence that surrounds District 12. It's labelled "_Electric Fence_" but I'm yet to hear the hum of electricity to signal that it has been turned on. I'm able to slide underneath a loose section in the chain with ease. When I reach the trees of the forest I locate the one that hides my bow and arrows in its hollow.

Trespassing in the woods is illegal and poaching is punishable by death, but it's the only means for supporting Gale's and my family. I venture out further to find my hunting buddy, Gale. He's sitting on a rock, staring out into the distance. I want to break his deep line of thought so I sneak up behind him. Before I can scare him he says "Hello Catnip." He has the most refined hearing of anyone I know, besides myself of course.

"It's _Katniss _to you thank you very much." I say through my clenched teeth. I pretend not to like the nickname he gave me, although I have to admit it makes me feel special.

We spend hours in the woods hunting and gathering edible plants. Eventually we retire with several rabbits, a squirrel I shot right through the eye and a bag full of roots and berries. Gale breaks a small loaf of bread in half and shares it with me as we sit in the meadow. Freshly baked bread is a luxury here and he had to trade a whole rabbit for it. We talk about running away from the district jokingly, knowing that it's near impossible with Gale's three younger siblings. We've always been close but something has been bothering me lately about how I feel towards him. The way his smile give me butterflies, the way I cling to him, wanting the hugs to last a little longer. It hints at something I've been avoiding my whole life. Love.

I know I'm not in love with him. It's probably just a crush, but everyone starts somewhere. And feelings such as these can be very volatile and erupt in a fountain of liquid emotion. I might be being a little melodramatic. But I can't go there with Gale. He's a brother to me. I can't go there with anyone anyway. Love leads to marriage which leads to children. And I certainly don't want to bring innocent lives into a world under The Capitol.

Gale cuts off my train of thought. "Should we get back to the Hob? I don't want these to spoil." He says, poking the bag full of game. The Hob is the black market where we trade what we kill.

"You go ahead." I sigh. "I'm going to go further in, it's quieter." He understands that I need to be alone at the moment. He's good like that.

When Gale leaves, I start walking through the thicker part of the woods, thinking about how much easier my life would be if I were from the Capitol. With advanced medical technologies available to everyone, death by illness is rare. If my family lived there they'd still be alive right now. My mother would have given birth in the hospital and the doctors would have been able to save her. My father would work for the Capitol and not in some shanty mine that was prone to collapsing. Don't get me wrong, I love Uncle Beau and Hazelle, but they're not my parents.

I hate the Capitol. They live there in luxury with plentiful food, their children growing up unaware of the terms "hunger" and "suffering". Actually that's not true. Capitol children are educated on the idea of "hunger" once a year. The "Hunger Games", the Capitols idea of entertainment. Every year a boy and girl from each district is conscripted into participating in these games where they are forced to fight to the death. There's only one victor, one life spared. It's barbaric.

These thoughts fill me with an uncontrollable rage. I need to take it out on something before I scream and alert the authorities of my position. With my fist clenched I punch directly into a big oak tree. To my surprise I find my hand embedded in the trunk. I pull it out slowly, confused. I'm absolutely certain that there wasn't a hole in the tree before I punched it. But there must have been. This is hard, solid oak. Nothing can put a dent in it beside specialised tools. A thought runs through my mind; perhaps in my fit of rage I managed to – no, that's ridiculous. Like I said, it's solid oak.

I examine my fist. It's slightly red and sore but no damage done. It's getting late so I pick up my bow and sheath that I had lain out neatly on the ground and start to head home. Walking back towards the fence, I allow myself to smirk at the thought of being able to punch holes in trees. If I did have some kind of super strength, I'd march right into the Capitol and punch the President in the face. If only.

Before I break out of the tree line, I stop in front of another large oak. This one hasn't a dent in its bark. Without hesitation, I give it the hardest punch I can manage. To my astonishment, there sits an oak with a fist sized dent in its trunk.

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**I'm currently looking for a Beta Reader. If you enjoy the story so far, and have reasonably okay spelling and grammar skills, please contact me. I'd love for someone to just have a read over my chapters before I publish them, fix any obvious grammatical errors and offer me their opinion. I'm happy to hear if you have any new ideas that I can integrate into the story. I have a broad plan for the plot, however I'm open to suggestions and would love some input from readers. **

**Please review, I love feedback :)**


	3. Chapter 2

"Get into a punch-up or something Kat?" Uncle Beau asks, gesturing towards my bruised knuckles. I nod mindlessly, with my head in my hand and elbow resting on the dining table, staring at the flickering candle. We don't have electricity so most of our dinners are lit by candlelight. "How bad does the other guy look?" he says in a comical tone, chuckling to himself. The light reflects off his bald, scabby scalp. On his chin grows a wiry, grey beard. Everything about my uncle screams coal miner, aside from his bright blue eyes which are a rarity in District 12. "Katniss Everdeen?" His voice booms through the walls of our small makeshift home. Only then do I snap out of my daydream.

"Wha- yes?" I stutter, slowly coming back to reality.

"How'd you get those bruises girl?" He again points at my knuckles with his fork full of burnt pheasant.

"Punched a tree" I say with a flat tone. He raises an eyebrow before quickly dropping his head, paying conspicuous attention to his meal.

"So uh," He babbles, his mouth still full of meat. "Was there a reason for you to be boxing innocent trees? Or is this just something you kids do these days, with the lack of entertainment and all?" He says playfully, his tone not quite hiding the wariness in his voice. This catches my attention. He places his fork on his plate, grabs his napkin and wipes his mouth. There's plenty of food left on his plate which is odd, he has never not finished a meal before. Now he sits attentively, awaiting my answer.

What was the question again? About the tree, why? Okay. I'm not going to tell him what really happened.

"I just felt like it." I sigh, avoiding his ever-so-creepy eye contact.

"Katniss, I need you to be honest with me. Why did you punch a tree? Was it beca-"

"Because I just felt like it, okay?" I shoot back at him as I rise to my feet. This doesn't have the expected effect on him. He just looks up at me and nods, as if my outburst had confirmed his thoughts. I storm off towards my room before he can take the conversation any further.

I was confused and scared after the events in the woods and I have kept my silence. I'm worried that Uncle Beau would just laugh and dismiss it if I told him about what happened with the tree. He would probably ridicule me and label me insane. That's what he always does. He has never taken me seriously, especially not after I told him that I wanted to learn how to hunt with Gale. He didn't even consider the idea that I was being serious. I remember him sitting there on his makeshift stool, laughing and choking on his stale bread. He stopped making jokes about me hunting when our meals went from second hand scraps to game and fresh vegetation. But never has he once acknowledged my skill or thanked me for being the one to put food on the table.

And for that I resent him.

But maybe I shouldn't. Uncle Beau took me in and raised me after my parents died. He works every day down at the coal mines for hours to provide for us. He does the best that he can and I should be grateful. Snapping at him was wrong but I'm still too frustrated to go apologise. I've felt like this for at least a month. I've been grouchy and angry. Everything seems to tip me over the edge lately.

After an hour of solitude in my room, Uncle Beau knocks on my door and opens it halfway. It's dark and I can only make out the outline of his face as he leans against the door frame. "I know you've been quite angry lately" he says in a hushed voice. "And I just want you to know... there's a reason for it. There's some changes going on with your body and-"

"I've already had the 'becoming a lady' talk with Hazelle years ago. I don't need it from you now." I grumble.

"That's not it. Katniss, I need to discuss some things with you." His tone is serious and I'm clueless as to what he means by _changes_. "You and I have both got the flu and we are taking tomorrow off from work and school to rest." He finishes. And with that he leaves the room.

The flu? Is that what he meant by changes to my body? He thinks I'm sick and that's why I've been so grumpy. I'm not sick and neither is he. Still I don't question him. I get a day off school which I'm more than happy about. The rest of the night I spend pondering the mystery behind my real or imagined ability to crater trees.

I awake to the sound of birds chirping and an intense bright light shining on my face. It must be halfway through the morning. I've overslept again. Something I've only been doing recently. My body just seems to feel so heavy and drained lately.

I sit up slowly, taking in my surroundings. Last night I dreamt of being in a lush, green world that was thriving with unique animals. There were happy faces of people I have never seen before, but they felt familiar. In this place I felt content, a feeling rare to me. If it were up to me I'd stay in this beautiful place forever. But sadly its bursting into violent flames and the screams of children were what brought me back to reality. It's funny how the darkness in my soul can destroy even the most merry of dreams. Now I sit in a dull, grey room which harbours only the feeling of depression.

On my folded clothes sits a note.

_Meet me in the woods_

It's my uncles' handwriting. I wonder why he's in the woods given that he has never stepped one foot in there for as long as I can remember. Curiosity overcomes me and within five minutes I'm dressed, out the door and through the gap in the fence.

Uncle Beau didn't say where exactly in the huge expanse of woods to meet, but I can clearly make out the tracks his oversized feet left in the ground. In no time I reach a small clearing where my uncle stands, patiently waiting for me to arrive.

"Seriously, enough of this shady business" I shout from across the field. "Tell me what's so important." He simply grins and gestures for me to come over.

We sit on a log and I irritably await his explanation. "There are so many things I haven't told you." He starts. "And I want you to know, I did all of this for your safety." Now he has my attention. I'm not sure whether I should say something at this point but he continues. "First of all, I need to see how far you've developed."

"Developed?" I question.

"Have you been able to... do anything out of the ordinary?" He inquires. For a moment I think he's making another joke. But then my mind flicks back to the moment I dented the tree. "The changes I was talking about, they're not your regular teenage adjustments." He looks straight at me, expecting a response.

"No, I-uh, I haven't... had any... changes" I stutter, flustered by the strangeness of the conversation.

"Alright" He pats my lap and stands up, walking to the other side of the field. By this point I'm beyond confused. Changes? Adjustments? He's not making any sense. Before I can speak out and snap at his obscurity, he spins around and throws a fist sized rock full speed at my head. Without comprehension of the situation, I've already stood up, caught the rock, spun around and sent it flying his way with great force. Uncle Beau had already ducked the moment he through the rock, allowing it to fly right over the top of him and smash into a tree. A huge thud echoes on impact and the rock shatters into miniscule pieces.

Speechless, I look down at my hands and wonder how on earth I did that. I can hear Uncle Beau by the tree marvelling at what just happened, "Now that's what I was talking about!" He says enthusiastically.

He calls me over and I run towards him, hoping he can explain everything now. As I approach him, he moves out the way allowing me to see the large dent in the tree trunk. This image has been appearing far too often for my liking.

"What's wrong with me?" I wail as I fall to my knees.

"Nothing m'dear" he chuckles. "This is all very normal for your kind."

"My kind?" I ask, tears forming in my eyes. He offers his hand and stands me up.

"I honestly don't know how to start." He stands with his arms folded, staring at the ground. "They never gave me a 'raising a Garde in Panem' brochure."

I wipe the tears from my eyes with my sleeve and stare at him. Nothing he is saying is making any sense. I'm over beating around the bush. I just want him to get straight to the point and clear everything up. "Stop doing this to me." I huff. "I need to know what this is all about. Please just get to the point."

He looks at my expression, noting my seriousness. "Fine, but this is going to be a huge blow." I nod and brace myself for what he has to say next. "And you're most likely not going to believe me at first. But as you can clearly see, you've developed an abnormal amount of strength that you must know, isn't quite human. And I'm hoping this is going to allow you to believe the truth."

Abnormal strength_. Not.. human._ My mind runs through millions of possibilities. The only rational one I can come up with is that... I'm a capitol mutt, created for destruction. But that's ridiculous, I'm as human as human can be. A little dead on the inside, but I'm still a living, breathing human being. Maybe the capitol did something to me as a baby. Maybe they injected me with something to change my cell structure or something. Making me powerful, someone they can use against the districts. That's it;

My name is Katniss Everdeen. And I'm a muttation.

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**Sorry if my chapter edit sends you a notification or something, I've written the next chapter but I'm waiting to publish it after I get someone to read over it (any volunteers?)**

**Thank you to all who took the time to tell me what they thought. Praise is always accepted wholeheartedly, criticism is taken on board and suggestions are always considered and sometimes applied to my story :) **

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	4. Chapter 3

"Katniss, you hear me?" Uncle Beau snaps his fingers in my face. "I said you're not a mutt. You're far from it."

"If I'm not a mutt, then what am I?" I scream at him. His face cringes. I watch as he struggles to find the words. After five minutes, he is defeated.

Without a word, he walks over to the log where we sat. He pulls out what appears to be a small chest and sits down with it on his lap. As he fumbles and opens it, I walk over and sit on the log beside him. He pulls out a small object and immediately slams the lid of the chest shut before I can see what's inside.

The chest appears to be made of a dull grey metal. It is covered in a layer of filth, and I watch as it comes to life when my uncle dusts it off with his palm. As soon as his skin comes in contact with the metal, it emits a bright blue light in the formation of a circular symbol. As his hand leaves the surface of the chest, the symbol dulls to a dark blue. I immediately recognize the pattern. It's something that I have been familiar with since as long as I can remember.

My ankle—I've always had a scar on my outer left ankle. It's small and circular with smaller overlapping rings inside. It looks almost like a stamp; the way the skin is raised to form the rings. The symbol on the chest matches the scar on my ankle exactly.

I always wondered how I got the scar. When I was younger, I would press Uncle Beau for answers, but he told me that he didn't know. As I grew older, I learnt not to ask too many questions, for my uncle never had any answers. But now, I'm certain he does.

"Katniss, I can't tell you these things. It's too unbelievable, and I don't have the words." I frown, expecting no explanation for the scar or for anything. "But I can show you." He holds out a small black pebble in his palm—the object he had taken out of the chest.

"Is this the solution to all my questions?" My voice quivers. "A rock?" I have to concentrate hard in order to stop myself from crying again.

"This isn't just a normal rock," he beams with excitement. "It's a memory stone." I open my mouth in bewilderment, but I can't manage any words. "I don't want you to speak. Let me explain." Uncle Beau pats my back reassuringly. I relax my posture with the promise of clarity forthcoming. "I know you won't believe the truth unless it's right there in front of you—you're stubborn like that. This stone has the ability to absorb any memories of your choice. I knew that it would be hard for me to convince you of your origins, so I recorded as much as I could from the beginning of this journey," he finishes.

I know now that my uncle is suffering from some serious problems. Still, I remain quiet, disappointed because I wasn't receiving any clarification.

Uncle Beau still wears his excitement on his face. He grabs my right arm and turns it over, placing the stone on my wrist. It's cool to the touch, despite being held in warm hands for so long. I can almost feel a faint vibration originating from the stone. The vibration begins to travel up my arm, up my neck, and as it reaches my brain, everything goes dark.

Suddenly, I'm no longer in the meadow of dry, yellow turf, but on a hill sheathed with luscious green grass. It overlooks an expanse of a dark green forest, humming with the sounds of strange creatures. I feel a warm breeze caressing my fingers and neck. The sun, setting on the horizon, paints the sky rich in colours of oranges, yellows and pinks. Off to the left rests a small moon; above it is a much larger one. I turn around and descend the hill; only, I have no control over my body. And it goes dark once again.

The next thing I know, I'm standing in front of a solid, blue door. I knock twice, and that's when I realize; that's my uncle's hand. This is my uncle's memory. I'm in his body.

A few seconds pass before the door opens. There stands a tall, dark haired man with familiar grey eyes. A warm smile spreads across his face and after a strong handshake, I'm invited in. I walk up the stairs and take a left into a small room. I can see a crib on the right side of the room. It's a nursery. The white walls are painted by the evening colours of the sunset. Besides the crib is a woman sitting on a rocking chair. When she looks up and notices me, she smiles and stands up. She comes over and hugs me tightly. She is a rather dainty woman, with green eyes and long blonde hair. I know her. I've seen her in my dreams. I want to ask her who she is, but I can't control my body.

From the crib, a baby begins to cry. The woman turns around and leans over the crib. She picks up the infant, who is wrapped in a white blanket. The moment the child is cradled in its mothers arms, the cries cease. She rocks the baby gently, settling it.

"It's a girl." She says softly. Her warm voice is soothing. As she walks closer to me, or Uncle Beau, I see a little hand, a sweet little face. The small being is now in my arms, my masculine arms. It's a very odd feeling, being in someone else's body, but I'm able to feel every sensation. I feel the soft touch of her skin against mine, the surprisingly strong grip of her hand around my finger.

I reach into my pocket and grab a string. I pull it out to reveal an amulet with a circular, dark blue stone. The symbol on it matches both my scar and the chest. I hold the pendant above the child. She reaches for it with her tiny hands. As she grasps it in one hand, it glows a brilliant blue before dimming. She begins to unsettle, and I hand her back to her mother who rubs her back soothingly. I see the cause of her agitation. Her left ankle is pulsating with a dull, blue light. When it stops, I examine her leg. On her outer, left ankle sits a small, circular scar. It matches the amulet, the chest, and my scar. And then everything goes black, for the third time.

Now I stand on a tarmac, staring at a large, grey vehicle. It has a long, cylinder body, with a pointed nose and angled wings. I recognize this structure. It's very similar to the old airplanes that the Capitol used to use for faster transport, before hovercraft technology became available. History is a compulsory class in school. The Capitol wants us to know of all the wonderful things they have done to improve society—their society I might add.

The tarmac fills with anxious, scared and crying people. I'm tapped on the back. I turn to see the tall man from before. He has tears in his eyes. He shakes my hand and follows with a hug. Over his shoulder I see that the sky, once a dazzling blue, is now blood red. Explosions go off in the distance, and the sky is filled with black smoke. There must be a war.

The woman with her child approaches me, crying uncontrollably. She clutches her baby and buries her head in my chest. She whispers something to me, but it's muffled, and I can't make out the words. I break away and give the couple and their daughter some time alone.

Looking around, I see a number of groups of parents, all in tears, handing over their young children to another adult and saying goodbye. Suddenly, sirens go off, and everyone begins to panic. There are orders for us to hurry up. Everyone runs towards the airplane. We say our quick, emotional goodbyes. The baby girl is removed reluctantly from her mother's arms by her father and is handed to me. I cradle her, shielding her ears from the loud roar caused by a nearby explosion. She wails as I take her away from her parents and follow the others up the stairs and into the aircraft. I wonder why all the children's parents aren't joining us.

I take a seat next to a middle-aged man with shoulder length grey hair. On his lap sits a distraught young blonde boy, no older than two. He clutches to the man and cries for his mother and father.

I try and comfort the baby girl in my arms. She looks a few months older than she did in the first memory. With everyone strapped in, the aircraft begins to turn around and travel down the runway. It increases speed until finally lifting off the ground. I feel the pressure on my chest, as we ascend the sky. Looking through the window, only clouds of black dust can be seen. We continue to ascend until the pressure inside the aircraft changes suddenly. I'm able to breathe normally again. I look outside and notice how far away from the ground we are. We're almost... no we're definitely out of the atmosphere. We're in space. I've never known for an airplane to break the atmosphere before. This must be some kind of spacecraft.

The planet looks small now. We appear to be circling around it—perhaps waiting for the war to end? You can see the explosions on the land. Fire erupts before being concealed by large mushroom shaped clouds. I wonder if the children's parents escaped on another ship. I wonder if anyone else escaped at all. Why didn't the parents leave with their children?

I remove my seatbelt and stand up. I'm not floating in an anti-gravity atmosphere, like I assumed you would be in space. I walk down to the back of spacecraft, passing rows upon rows of weeping adults and children from infants to toddlers. I place the young girl down in a crib. I wonder if she will ever see her parents again. Everything darkens.

I open my eyes and stare out the window of the spacecraft. We are still circling the planet at a distance. The clouds of smoke have settled, but the vibrant colours I had once seen are now all but grey and black. This is not a planet of life. This is a planet of desolation.

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**I'd like to thank theperksofbeinganauthor for her help with making this chapter literate :D **

**How do you guys like the story so far? **


	5. Chapter 4

"Did they make it?" my voice trembles as tears stream down my face. "The parents, did they make it?" I'm no longer on the spacecraft—no longer living my uncle's memories.

Uncle Beau lowers his head and takes a deep breath. "No," he sighs.

I open and clench my fists, reestablishing control over my own body. I'm trying to make sense of all this information. That wasn't Panem. It wasn't Earth at all.

Glancing at the chest that still rests on my uncle's lap, I remember the scar on the baby's ankle. I lean down, untie my left boot and take it off. I fold down my dirty grey sock and run my fingers over the raised scar. "That baby… it has the same scar as me."

"Katniss, you're not all that bright, are you m'dear?" I scowl as he chuckles to himself. "I thought it was quite evident." He opens the chest and pulls out an amulet—the same one from the memory. "That baby was you."

I swallow hard. My whole life is a lie. I shut my eyes tight, hoping to eventually wake up from this awful dream. But this isn't a dream. This is actually happening. The things I saw and felt were real. At least I think so. How could my uncle possibly have a magical stone that can transfer his memories? How can that baby be me? It's ridiculous.

But it all felt like déjà vu. "The dreams I've been having… they're from the same place, with the same people." I open my eyes and look at my uncle, expecting for confirmation.

"You've dreamt of Lorien?" he asks with a surprised tone. I seem to have caught him off guard.

"_Lorien._" It rolls off my tongue. "Is that the name of the planet?"

Uncle Beau nods. "But you were very young when we left. I don't know how you could have remembered any of it." He furrows his brow.

"I don't remember. It's just the grass, the trees, the sky, the moons." I struggle with the last part. "The _woman. _They were all in my dreams. At the end though," I pause, "the sky turns red, like it's on fire. Then everything is… _des-destroyed_."

"This is remarkable!" he exclaims, rather nervously. He fumbles with the edges of the chest, avoiding eye contact.

"If I'm that baby, then that man at the door… was he was my father?" Uncle Beau nods. "And the woman was _my _mother?"

"Yes."

"But you told me that she died during birth, and he died in the mines," I attack.

"I also told you that you were a perfectly normal human being, remember?" he counters. I bury my head in my arms. Today promised answers, but for every answer I get, a million more questions come to mind. I don't even know if I believe him yet.

"So I'm an alien?" He nods. "And we came here because our planet was destroyed?" Another nod. "Who destroyed it? Was there a war?" This time he has to think.

"It was a civil war, between two different classes of Loric." Loric must be the race of the people. "It was like the Dark Days." I think I understand now. It seems like everyone's history has been a series of class struggles. There's always oppressed people, ruled by rich and selfish jerks. One day, the poor rise up and fight for their rights, but if Panem is any indication of results, they all end up worse off. I guess it was the same for the Loric. I mean, their planet was completely destroyed. District 13 comes to mind.

"Which class was I—rich or poor?" I didn't mean to say this out loud. But I can't take it back now.

"Uh, it wasn't that kind of class difference. But you were considered the better class." This shocks me—I've never been better off than anyone before. My surprise must register on my face because my uncle shakes his head. "You see, the Loric were divided into two different types of people." He takes a break to see if I comprehend so far. Which is insulting, I'm not a moron. "There were Cepan and Garde. Cepan were the regular people. They were just like your average humans, only far more intelligent," he says rather smugly. "And then there were Garde, who were special." He has my full attention now. "They had a special ability, like those you're just developing now. Each Garde had one power, called a Legacy, which, depending on its type, would determine their role in society." He takes a breath and gives me time to comprehend.

So I'm a Garde, because I have super strength. I guess that must be my "Legacy". I smile a little. Uncle Beau notices and rolls his eyes. "Go on." I punch his arm playfully.

"Ugh fine. So if you developed the ability to create force fields, you'd be placed on Loric Defence. There were attack types too, like the ability to create fire from your palms. And conservation types such as controlling the growth of plants with your mind. People like that worked in the forest or on food farms. There were a range of different types, but it's not really that important now," he says cheerlessly. I guess because he's from this planet, talking about it brings sorrow. He must have lost family and friends in the war. But he can't stop now. I need to know everything.

"So what about the Cepan?" I press, trying to be as sympathetic as possible.

"Their main role was to mentor young Garde," he sighs. "Each adult Cepan was given a Garde child to guide them through developing their legacy." I wonder if Uncle Beau was a Cepan. Maybe I was his Garde. I'm not sure if I should ask at the moment though. He is one second away from breaking down. I've never seen my uncle cry before, and I don't really know how to console him. I place my hand awkwardly on his back, hopefully it's comforting. I guess it is, as he continues, "In my opinion, I didn't mind the way it all worked. Sure, when you're young, finding out that you'll never develop super powers is pretty disappointing, but you get over it."

"Were Cepan poor?" I don't know if this is an appropriate question to ask, but I want to know what this place was like.

"No, this wasn't Panem. Wealth was distributed equally, and so was the food." He fiddles with the amulet, still in his hand. "But some Cepan felt oppressed. They were against the system because they didn't like being on the 'boring' side. The small minority formed a rebel group. It grew as the years went on but it wasn't much. They knew that starting a revolution would change nothing – they still wouldn't have powers." He clenches his fists, "They wanted more than to merely revolutionize the system. They wanted genocide. They wanted to get rid of all Garde, so no one was better than themselves."

"If there weren't that many rebels, and the Garde had powers, how did—"

"Katniss, let me finish," he cuts me off. "The Loric Defense had developed weapons similar to the ones that District 13 used to produce. They were for Cepan to use to aid Garde in defending the planet if ever someone attacked."

"Like someone from a different planet? Other aliens?"

"Katniss!" He covers my mouth with his hand. "Yes, yes, there are other life sustaining planets out there. It was just a precaution." His frustration shows, so I feign zipping my lips shut and allow him to continue. "Long story short; the rebels got a hold of the weapons and in just one day were able to wipe out most of the Garde by targeting their schools, workplaces and neighborhoods. Nuclear weapons, however, aren't very specific. They'd hit the target of course, but the after affects are global." I don't understand what he means, so he explains further, "You see, these weapons are very toxic. The clouds created by the explosions covered the sky. It created a haze over the whole planet, blocking out the sun. The air was also toxic, and we believe that those who could get to the underground bunkers in time, survived for the time being. But the radiation levels were off the charts. They would have gotten radiation poisoning and died soon after." Tears well up in his eyes, "We escaped the moment the missiles started, so none of this affected us." His voice quivers. "We circled the planet for a month, waiting to see if there were any signs of life."

"But there was nothing?"

"The haze dispersed after a few weeks. By that time, the plants were all dead, and the earth was a black crust. The planet had died and so with it, the survivors. The rebels had destroyed everything, even themselves."

We sit in silence for a long time; Uncle Beau continues to play around with the amulet while I untie and retie my shoelaces. Although I was too young to remember this place, it saddens me. I can't begin to imagine how Uncle Beau feels. I've never really lost anyone before. I mean, I've always known that my parents had died when I was young. But I never knew them, so I lost something I never had. I was close to Gale's father, but when he died I knew I couldn't let myself be affected. I had to harden, move on, so I could help Gale provide for Hazelle and her three younger children.

I still have a million questions about Lorien and about myself. But I don't think I can keep pressing my uncle for information, not if it hurts him. And especially not if it means I have to try and be sympathetic and comforting. But I need to establish one thing, "So you're a Cepan and I'm your Garde?"

A smile forms across his face as he sits up straight. "Yes, you're my Garde," He hands me the amulet. "And I've got some things to teach you." The amulet lights up in my hands, the familiar blue light then dims.

"What is with this glowing stuff?" I squeaked. He chuckled and took it from my hands, placing it around my neck.

"I don't know how to explain it. It's kind of a bond. It's your pendant, so it lights up when you touch it for the first time. This chest is bonded to both of us, so whenever one of us touches it, it lights up." He explains.

"And the symbol?"

"It's your symbol. I don't want to confuse you too much by making things even more complicated," He stands up and puts the chest on the ground. "But you're a special Garde." Oh great, more specialness. "The reason you and the eleven others were saved," he pauses, "is that you're all the great grandchildren of the twelve Elders. And so it was your destiny to succeed them. This symbol was your great grandmother's, and it's now yours."

"Elders?" I brace myself for more confusion.

"They were the twelve leaders of Lorien," He continues, "They were the most powerful Garde of Lorien, having multiple legacies." More than one power, I like the sound of that. "It was prophesized that you and the others would grow to be the most powerful leaders Lorien had ever seen." Perfect, not only am I some kind of freak alien, but I have a destiny and prophecy to go with it. "That's why you children were given top priority and evacuated as soon as the war began."

"And our parents?" I ask rather harshly.

"It was decided long before that if the planet was attacked by any means, the children were to be evacuated to earth with their guardians for safety." His voice is strained. "I know you would have preferred your parents—and I didn't agree with the plan—but I didn't question the Elder's decisions. The ship was made for 24 passengers; only one parent could have fit anyway."

"The children could have sat on their laps!" I snap. "I was a baby, that boy was on that man's lap—they didn't have to die." I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but I'm upset. I can see how deeply I cut him. In all my anger, I don't care. My parents died for no reason.

"I know, and I think about it every day," he chokes. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but I had no choice." I want to apologize too, but I can't. "The plan was for the Cepan to take the children out of harm's way and for the parents to help fight back—but we didn't expect a nuclear attack. We didn't expect everyone would die."

"What was the point of our escape?" I ask surprisingly calm. "Everyone died—we could have died with them. There'd be no suffering. But now we're here in Panem, where we starve and die slowly, what was the point?" My voice is calm but the topic is not.

"Because m'dear, we're going to meet up with the others, and we're going to go back," he answers. "We're going to heal the planet."

* * *

**Some of you may have read this chapter and thought; Wow, what a complete idiot, she knows absolutely nothing about Lorien Legacies. But I'll stop you right there. I have read the books and I know and understand the backstory. I just had to change it up a little for my story to work. I hope it sounds okay. **

**I also apologize for yet another chapter purely establishing the backstory. The next chapter you'll get to see Katniss training and refining her newfound skills. And following that will be the reaping with quite a few new and hopefully exciting alterations. **

**I'd like to thank my lovely Beta theperksofbeinganauthor for her amazing job!**


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